Reconciliation Action Plan

In 2011, then National President Merv Lindsay committed to use the Year of Humanitarian Engineering as a platform to recognise that Indigenous Australians are at a significant disadvantage compared to non-Indigenous Australians and that the gap has not decreased over the past decade or more. As a result, Engineers Australia developed and released a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in support of the Australian Government's Closing the Gap strategy. This strategy aims to reduce Indigenous disadvantage with respect to life expectancy, child mortality, access to early childhood education, educational achievement and employment outcomes.

Engineers Australia's RAP details steps and priorities that the organisation will undertake to assist in helping to achieve Indigenous equality and to help build positive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. More information on RAPs can be found at the Reconciliation Australia website.

Statement of Commitment to Indigenous Australians

1. Engineers Australia acknowledges and respects Australia's Indigenous peoples as the first occupiers of Australia.

2. Engineers Australia respects Indigenous Australians, their cultural characteristics, spiritual traditions and stories, their unique connections to land and sea.

3. Engineers Australia is committed to supporting and promoting initiatives in Indigenous economic development, education, social and heritage rights, and working toward the achievement of mutually beneficial outcomes between Indigenous peoples and our members.

4. Engineers Australia will attain our commitment by:

Working with our members, government agencies and clients to achieve good relationships between Indigenous Australians and our engineering communities;

Ensuring that relationships with Indigenous Australians is based on equality, respect, trust, honesty and openness;

Contributing to enhanced respect and understanding of cultural diversity within Engineering work environments;

Working with integrity to actively eliminate racism in the workplace;

Ensuring that negotiations undertaken involving our members with Indigenous Australians, Indigenous organisations and native title representative bodies are conducted in good faith, giving recognition to Indigenous rights and consideration of Indigenous needs and issues;

Helping to identify initiatives through partnering with educational institutions taking in Indigenous students so as to encourage careers and development opportunities in engineering;

Actively working to increase the number of Indigenous people permanently employed in the engineering profession;

Providing recognition for corporate leadership within the Engineering profession and its related Businesses as well as Indigenous communities for developing appropriate initiatives for contributing to positive impacts on health, welfare, culture, education and socio-economic status of Indigenous Australians.